Trailer Parking Break Out When Parked Not At A Door

All of my 4 drive wheels have spring breaks, so do our trailers. I always pull both. To make my truck idle when out set parameters, I push in the yellow. In winter, I would rather have my trailer breaks freeze than the tractor. It's easier to get under the trailer to bang on the drums.

Well, I was parked in a great cold place in Canada once upon a time. It was so cold at night that I watched a guy with frozen trailer brakes break two steel drums after he tried freeing them with a hammer and a punch. Clean breaks into two pieces for each brake drum. This was at a receiver, and that driver was there for about four hours awaiting a dock assignment. I agree with using the trailer brakes if a truck has an automatic shutdown feature, especially if it’s in a hot area during the summer. During the winter cold temps, that should not be a problem. Everyone will need to make their own decisions.

If we aren't meant to use both when parking, then why do they both pop when you pull the tractor brake? Seems pretty obvious to me. I can only speak for the trucks I've driven.

Neek, good point. And what would happen if you tried leaving the trailer brakes disengaged during a CDL road test? Wouldn't that be an automatic fail, or not? Last winter I was told by our company maintenance dept. to drag my brakes before parking, and to park on level ground and to not engage the trailer brakes, This was after I had frozen brakes during that polar vortex we had. Plus I got instructed on what to do myself to free up the brakes if it happened again. Now I carry a metal rod to use with my 2lb. hammer for that purpose and I did have to use it once after that to free up the brakes on a trailer I was picking up.

All of my 4 drive wheels have spring breaks, so do our trailers. I always pull both. To make my truck idle when out set parameters, I push in the yellow. In winter, I would rather have my trailer breaks freeze than the tractor. It's easier to get under the trailer to bang on the drums.

Okay, this is a new thing to my rookie mind. No one ever told me that the parking brakes have an effect on idling. Can anyone elaborate on that? It sounds like important information.

NeeklODN wrote:

If we aren't meant to use both when parking, then why do they both pop when you pull the tractor brake? Seems pretty obvious to me. I can only speak for the trucks I've driven.

From what I've seen from the videos posted the driver will hold the trailer parking break down with their thumb and pull the tractor break. Some are real ******y about it talking like they are the smartest truckers out on the road. That's why I referred to them as "Super Truckers" in my initial post.

NeeklODN wrote:

If we aren't meant to use both when parking, then why do they both pop when you pull the tractor brake? Seems pretty obvious to me. I can only speak for the trucks I've driven.

From what I've seen from the videos posted the driver will hold the trailer parking break down with their thumb and pull the tractor break. Some are real ******y about it talking like they are the smartest truckers out on the road. That's why I referred to them as "Super Truckers" in my initial post.

That’s the way I do it. I’ll change my handle on here accordingly.

I'm still trying to figure out a reliable way to keep from getting my knuckles rapped (almost spelled that 'raped'} when I set my brakes. Ouch, there's a lot of force there.

I don't use my trailer brake, either. We were told not to, unless absolutely necessary. I just don't remember the reason, now, other than during the winter, and possible freezing. I will have to check into that.

All of my 4 drive wheels have spring breaks, so do our trailers. I always pull both. To make my truck idle when out set parameters, I push in the yellow. In winter, I would rather have my trailer breaks freeze than the tractor. It's easier to get under the trailer to bang on the drums.

Okay, this is a new thing to my rookie mind. No one ever told me that the parking brakes have an effect on idling. Can anyone elaborate on that? It sounds like important information.

It doesn't work that way on Schneider trucks, but some other companies you can bypass the idle shutdown by releasing your trailer brakes.

I have never set my trailer brakes when parking. Our trailer air bags deflate when the brakes are set, and some of our trailers drop enough to jam winches into the tires.

Because Rick mentioned it twice: I don’t know the state of everyone’s equipment, but I do not lose enough air on a break or even on a 34 for my brakes to pop. If they do, I’m out looking for an air leak.